Aberdeen hosts 10th state soccer tournament

October 11, 2007

This marks the 10th season of high school soccer state tournaments in South Dakota and the format has changed as the sport evolves. In 1998, the first state tournament was held and Sioux Falls Lincoln won the boys' title and Rapid City Stevens claimed the girls' crown. That first season all the teams were together in one class. The state went to two classes from 2001-03 and three classes from 2004-06. This year the state soccer returns to two classes (AA and A). When three classes were recognized, Class B was for newer teams and squads in smaller towns. The idea was to encourage them to form teams and compete against teams with similar abilities. Last year eight teams competed for state titles in Class AA and A. Class B wasn't able to field a complete eight team bracket in the girls' division. This year 10 teams in Class AA and A will play for championships so the numbers read 20 boys' squads and 20 girls. The addition of 10-team brackets resulted in the competition expanding from three days to four. The 2007 tourney kicked off Wednesday with two play-in games in each division. The No. 8 seed played the No. 9 seed, and the No. 7 seed took on the No. 10 seed. The winner of 8-vs.-9 game advanced to the quarterfinal round against the No. 1 seed today. The 7-vs.-10 winner moved on to play the No. 2 seed today. The play-in losers will meet today in the final game for both teams in the ninth-place game. The remaining eight teams will play quarterfinal games today, and championship and consolation semifinal games on Friday. Seventh-, fifth-, third- and first-place games will be contested Saturday. Soccer, which does not have enough time for a playoff system like football and volleyball, went with 10 teams to try to involve many, but not all, of its teams in pursuit of a state championship. “Most sports have some kind of a playoff season,” said state soccer president and Aberdeen boys' soccer coach Larry Lovrien. “We run out of time. We start fairly early in August and we can't hold the state tournament much later because you run into pheasant hunting season and there are no motels. We're locked into a certain number of weeks so there's not time for an elaborate playoff system.” Helped Aberdeen: The Aberdeen Central girls' and boys' teams are both in the tournament this year thanks to the 10-team format. The Golden Eagles squads both were seeded ninth along with the Groton boys' team. The Ipswich girls were seeded 10th. Two-year deal: Next year's soccer tournament will also be hosted by Aberdeen. “Aberdeen has a really good reputation as a great place for a tournament,” said Lovrien. “There are an adequate number of motel rooms and lots of places to eat. It's a friendly town. People go out of their way to make visitors feel welcome. It's a beautiful soccer complex and all the games are in one place.” Deb Smith is an American News Sports Writer and can be reached at (800) 925-4100, ext. 311; or e-mail dsmith@aberdeennews.com.